I support Curtis Martin...

When former New York Jets running back Curtis Martin retired in July, he stated he wanted to transition to the front office. More specifically, he wants to own a team in the NFL.

I think that is a great goal. Some athletes become TV analysts, some open businesses, and frankly I don't know what else former athletes do, but I'm sure most have to work.

Why have I all of the sudden become such a big fan of Curtis Martin's goal? Because he is thought of as one of the toughest athletes to play in New York? Because is the league's fourth-leading career rusher?
Actually, no, it is because of this quote from an ESPN article:

"I want to become a new image of what a professional athlete is," Martin said. "I think presently in sports, you have the whole bravado, bling-bling, and it seems that that's the image that most of us look up to, and I don't know who set that image. I want to be a different image. I want to be an image that's positive for you long-term. ... That's one of my true motivations, is to be a different goal to reach versus just having a million homes and a million cars and all the jewelry in the world."

Who DID set the image of bling-bling and a million possessions? I don't know, but I might blame hip-hop artists like Soulja Boy (Tell'em).

But, regardless, I think it is great that Curtis Martin is taking a different approach from the typical secular world views that are propagated in the sports world.

I will cheer for whatever team Martin becomes an owner of, especially if the Bears keeping starting Rex Grossman....

Ed Hochuli is my hero!

Although a USA Today is thrown at my various hotel room doors every morning, I always leave it in the hallway. But, not yesterday. Yesterday, my hero was on the front page (of course he would have a Wikipedia entry).

The USA Today article starts out talking about how Mr. Ed "the weights in his penalty flag are made of pure platinum" Hochuli prepares his crew before game time. Starting on Saturday, he hands out "awards", which are rubber ducks, bears, and plungers, as they go over the film from the previous week's game. Sunday, they make sure things will go smoothly with plenty of pre-game prep.

But, I'm not here to talk about the article.

I'm here to talk about the man, the myth, the "physique".

A recent on-field explanation made by Mr. Hochuli:
"There was no foul on the play, it was not a hold. The Defender was just overpowered."

A comment made last Sunday by Sam Rosen, a Fox TV announcer, about Mr. Hochuli:
"Is it me, or is he just getting bigger?"


There are websites dedicated to Mr. Hochuli:

afraidofedhochuli.blogspot.com - this one is more concerned with football in general, but has one of the quotes I used above...

whatwouldedhochulido.com - created by Jessica McCartney, a 34-year-old Chicago resident. Quote from another article in the sports section of yesterday's USA Today (left side of USA Today link from above, "REF'S PHYSIQUE TURNS HEADS"), "says she couldn't help but notice [Mr.] Hochuli's muscular arms when she watched games."

www.nfl85.com - created by Mr. Hochuli's son. It currently has a message board and a few links, but the site claims in the future it will:
* include updates of Ed's weekly schedule
* include photos
* outline the "Herculean" workout regimen
* take a video tour with Ed of his "crib"
Let's hope the site comes through with its promises.

Also, thanks to the wikipedia page (from above), here is a link to his profile from his law firm (Jones, Skelton & Hochuli, P.L.C.):
Mr. Hochuli's profile

You can e-mail him at - ehochuli at jshfirm dot com

In the USA Today article, it says refs make between "$44,000 to $130,000 a season." Somehow, I doubt Mr. Hochuli is worried about that. Although (also in the article), he says it is much tougher to be a ref than a civil trial lawyer. The pressure of millions of people watching his split second decisions is immense.

To end my post on the great Mr. Hochuli, I will use a quote from "50 True Facts About Ed Hochuli" from whatwouldedhochulido.com:

"Ed Hochuli calculated Pi to the 300th digit and then declared it ENOUGH."

That's just the kind of man he is.....